Victoria, thanks for the suggestion...Emu oil...I'll try it...at this point I'm willing to try anything that might give me relief.

Melissa...it's encouraging to know that you have managed to overcome sensitivities to certain supps...this is the first time I have ever had any kind of adverse reaction to a NAP supp so it disturbed me...now I understand that even with a pure supp an adverse reaction can happen to anyone...now it's just a matter of trying to figure out how to coax my body into accepting it...I hope I can do that. It's a little scarey to think that I might get this rash again but I'm hoping that if I take it "with food" next time it will be ok.

Victoria...NAP told me that they have "not" had other reports of getting a rash from Intrinsa...so it might not be common to react this way...I'm sure if a lot of customers had this problem, NAP would have been notified.

Rex, I am wondering about the idea of taking the polyflora and intrinsa together. Intrinsa may cause a cleansing reaction, the polyflora would be to build the good bacteria. In my way of thinking I would take them apart, not at the same time. Like any anti fungal, I would take it separate of the probiotic, maybe by some hours or one at night, one in the am. But I don't know that this is why the itching happened. But if you did have some candida, and it was dying off, you could have a herxheimer reaction, where the dead yeasts can cause symptoms. So all the comments of starting out on smaller amounts are helpful. I hope you are feeling better soon! Itchiness can be so annoying!

paulam...thanks for presenting another good point about taking these supps separately, not together. I'm just wondering if I should just consider this rash a "warning" to me to just NOT try these anymore. My inclination is to try again but what if next time my reaction is even worse...very scarey to even think about...perhaps I should quit while I'm ahead & not press my luck. The rash is all over my neck now & is extending downwards across my upper chest...I'm watching it spread & wonder is this how it brakes-up or is it getting worse?

paulam...You taught me a new phrase, "herxheimer reaction", so being unfamiliar with this I looked it up & if this is what I'm experiencing that would be good because I'd be getting rid of toxins that I was not aware I had. I sure hope that what I'm experiencing is only getting rid of toxins. I also looked up candida and I don't fit that profile so my guess is that candida is not one of my problems. Thanks for teaching me something new.

Hi Rex,Maybe not candida, but leaky gut as Victoria mentioned. I believe that Hunters have gut issues, and you sound like you are having an allergic reaction for sure. I agree that quercetin should help and maybe some stinging nettle/utica dioca caps. But just to be sure, did you switch laundry detergents? Is it more moldy in your environment (leaves, etc outside that are moldy?) When I was in my 20's I had a scary case of hives when I was living in a "basement" apartment. I believed it was brought on by a combo of taking birth control pills and something I ate. I stopped both things, but never really new what caused the condition. I do know that they were the kind of hives that almost made it hard for me to breathe, and they were all over my trunk area. I don't recall what I took to stop them, but it was frightening. I had never had those before. In my 30's, an alternative md suggested candida was one of my problems, and that is when I started to take probiotics and learn more about the gut.....leaky gut, etc. Anyway I hope the rash is beginning to fade?

I just don't see the Polyflora causing this. I would be very surprised.

Maybe the Intrinsia, but like NAP, I've never heard of it before. The worst is that some people really don't like the smell or taste of it.

I hope you give the Polyflora a chance first and if there is no rash, keep taking it for a while before you even think about trying the Intrinsia again. Blood type-specific probiotics are so very important to immune health, I think it's worth an effort on that supplement.

Quercetin, Rex!

Hey, is there any other possible cause for this reaction? Anything?

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

sounds like something wanted to get out when it saw the intrinsa and probiotics come down...it's like the bad guys leaving town when Clint Eastwood shows up to clean it up..you get a bid of havoc before the town goes back to being peaceful and safe...

paulam...yes, the rash is finally beginning to fade but it's still "there"...very disconcerting...taking longer than I thought to heal. I'm sorry about your past scarey experience with hives...sounds like you weren't having a nice time of it at all. My laundry detergent is the same as usual & no unusual mold here that I can sense.

Victoria...no, I can't think of anything else that could have caused this. I put the Polyflora & Intrinsa away for now and will see about trying it after I'm all healed...way after! I just want to go back to the way it was when everything was good.

Victoria...when I am brave enough to try the Polyflora my plan is to blend half of one capsule into my smoothie that I have every mid-morning...does that sound like a good plan? My smoothie consists of pineapple juice, flaxseed meal, ARA6, cod liver oil, Biosil and protein powder. It's very thick so I figure it will serve to coat my stomach & hopefully protect me from having another bad experience. If that works out...I plan on doing the same with the Intrinsa.

I have no idea what the effect of food is on the Polyflora. I have always taken it on an empty stomach. Could be that it's just fine and will still work well. Lola might know, or it might take another call to NAP.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

I have battled with IBS most of my life, and my digestive system is definitely my weak link. I have tried countless brands of probiotics over the years, but when I used Polyflora B for the first time, my dear little gut breathed a sigh of relief!

The stress eased up quickly as I used it daily. I have no yeast allergies, just major gratitude for the way this product worked for me!

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

Thank you so much to all who have given me such wonderful direction regarding my troublesome reaction. I have read all the posts & will consider all the alternatives. Still itchy this morning...this is sure taking a long time to correct itself.

The Healing Crisis AKA: The Cleansing Reaction, The Detox Reaction, and The Herxheimer ReactionWhat is it? Also known as the "Herxheimer Reaction", this reaction occurs when the body tries to eliminate toxins at a faster rate than they can be properly disposed of. The more toxic one's bodily systems are, the more severe the detoxification, or healing crisis. It is characterized by a temporary increase in symptoms during the cleansing or detox process which may be mild or severe. You may feel worse and therefore conclude that the treatment is not working. But these reactions are instead signs that the treatment is working and that your body is going through the process of cleaning itself of impurities, toxins and imbalances.Such reactions are temporary and can occur immediately -- or within several days, or even several weeks, of a detox. Symptoms usually pass within 1-3 days, but on rare occasions can last several weeks. If you are suffering from a major illness, the symptoms you experience during the healing crisis may be identical to the disease itself. Sometimes discomfort during the healing crisis is of greater intensity than when you were developing the chronic disease. This may explain why there may be a brief flare-up in one's condition. Often the crisis will come after you feel your very best. Most people feel somewhat ill during the first few days of a cleanse because it is at that point that your body dumps toxins into the blood stream for elimination. With a more serious condition there may be many small crises to go through before the final one is possible. In any case, a cleansing & purifying process is underway, and stored wastes are in a free-flowing state. Cause: The healing crisis is the result of every body-system, in concert, working to eliminate waste products through all elimination channels and set the stage for regeneration. The end result: old tissues are replaced with new. When any treatment or cleansing program causes a large scale die-off of bacteria, a significant amount of endotoxins (toxins within the bacteria itself) are released into the body. The more bacteria present, and the stronger their endotoxins, the stronger the cleansing reaction. When any treatment or detox causes the organs of the body (particularly the liver, which is a storehouse of drug and poison residues) to release their stored poisons and toxins, a cleansing reaction may occur. Any program, such as fasting, which causes a rapid breakdown of fat cells (which are a storehouse for toxins), can cause a healing crisis as toxins previously lodged in the fat cells are released into the blood stream.

Symptoms: The healing crisis will usually bring about past conditions in whatever order the body is capable of handling at that time. People often forget the diseases or injuries they have had in the past, but are usually reminded during the crisis. There are a wide variety of reactions that may manifest during a healing crisis, the most common are:

Easing Your Way Through the Healing Crisis: Drink plenty of fresh water (especially water), juices, and herbal teas to flush the body of toxins. Some professionals recommend distilled water as the best. Drink from 2 to 4 quarts(liters) per day. This will help flush the toxins out of your system and speed along the detoxification.

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything.....they know how to make the best of everything!"

Raquel...I just Googled "die-off" reacation & as far as I can determine it is just another way of saying Herxheimer's Syndrome...which I learned about a few posts ago. Thanks also to you for watching over me...you guys are "family" to me. Another term that I Googled is "leaky-gut"...which was also mentioned a few posts ago. Very interesting stuff...I'm learning so much.

Ok...let the test begin...I had my first very small dose of PolyFlora O this AM. So far I feel fine. I'll do this for a few days & then try the Intrinsa the same way...in very small doses, this time WITH FOOD...the first time I took the Intrinsa shortly before bed on a relatively empty stomach. I never reacted poorly from taking any supp before so I had become careless about following the bottle directions...didn't think it was important...I learned my lesson the hard way but better late than never. If I was experiencing die-off I'm glad because it meant that I really needed that detox...I don't want to keep any "junk" in my body...so getting rid of it is a good thing.

maybe would be better 4 weeks or more only with Poliflora O, it´s the first time do you take Poliflora??? I have read about clean and detox candida, and some Naturopaths recommended start slowly with some anti-candida supps.